If you missed part one of the trip report, click here to catch up!

After a late night at Epcot, that 6:57 AM alarm to acquire a spot in the Tron virtual queue comes early! We got our spot, slept for a little bit longer and then dropped off our bags at Bell Services to be transferred to our next hotel. Shout out to Bell Services for all of the complimentary bag transfers we used throughout the trip. It’s a great way to go if you’re on a split stay at Walt Disney World. Before long, we were on a boat heading for a rainy day at Magic Kingdom.

Our boarding group was set to be called early in the day, and we were hoping for that because we wanted to have a relaxing evening at our hotel. Once we were in Magic Kingdom though, Tron broke down and we started trying to bide time in hopes that it would reopen. Having not been in the park since the attraction opened, we wanted to go check out how it looked anyway. While undoubtedly cooler at night, watching the bikes zip by any time of day is fun even if they were just testing!

We walked down from the attraction to Storybook Circus and caught the train from there. The day was pretty wet and it had been years since riding the train! That’s mostly because it was closed for a long time.

The Walt Disney Word Railroad offers a great loop around the park but there is something missing, especially compared to the Disneyland Railroad. There’s a lack of river views and no dinosaurs! It’s still worthy of a ride but doesn’t have as much character.

Thanks to the rain, it was a quiet late morning in Magic Kingdom. We walked right onto Dumbo and were met with pretty views of the castle! If I’m going to knock the Disney World Railroad, I should mention that this version of Dumbo is so much better than any other version. Between the colors, queue and view, there’s no contest!

At this point, our plans for the day were thwarted. We had planned to get to Animal Kingdom Lodge around check-in time to enjoy our night in the Kilimanjaro Club Level as much as possible. But Tron wasn’t open. On top of that, we were using the Disney Dining Plan and had 2 counter-service meals to eat. Having to use those in Magic Kingdom on their uninteresting options wasn’t at the top of our list. We decided to compromise a little bit on all of the diverging thoughts and share a meal at Columbia Harbor House, in hopes that Tron would open soon! We shared the Shrimp Boil there and really enjoyed it. The restaurant, if you haven’t read my review, is easily the best counter-service option in MK right now.

It was clear by then that even if Tron opened, which it did shortly after, our boarding group wouldn’t be called for quite a while. Having the benefit of a week long stay, we opted to go on Haunted Mansion and then head out of the park. The Mansion remains a treasure and my favorite attraction in Magic Kingdom. Much has been made about Hatbox Ghost being added to the ride. The placement is confusing and doesn’t really fit into the story. It wasn’t necessarily a negative but I don’t think the iconic character added much to the ride.

Wanting to take advantage of the Disney Dining Plan, we hopped over to Epcot via the monorail. That led us to La Cantina de San Angel for tacos and a margarita!

I think the food here has really improved over the last few years. The shrimp and barbacoa tacos are both delicious. Along with that, the setting is underrated sitting right next to World Showcase Lagoon. La Cantina has become one of my favorite counter-service spots in Epcot.

We walked around Epcot for a while, enjoying more of Festival of the Arts. Before long, we were on the bus heading toward Animal Kingdom Lodge!

The rest of the evening wasn’t exactly interesting from a theme park (or blog post!) perspective but it was one of my favorite nights of the trip. After arriving at our Kilimanjaro Club stay (booked with DVC points), we took the elevator up to the 6th floor of Animal Kingdom Lodge and indulged.

We arrived just before the dinner buffet (not a full buffet but plenty of offerings for a meal) and stopped by a few times to fill our plates and have drinks. The Butter Chicken was especially good! In between stops there, we’d go sit on our balcony to watch the animals below and did a load of laundry.

A thunderstorm rolled in shortly after dark! Sitting outside, safely under cover and watching that for an hour was so pleasant. I haven’t had many relaxing nights at Walt Disney World but this was exactly that.

Eventually, the dinner buffet turned into the dessert buffet and that was even more dangerous. We went back to that one even more than dinner, getting as many sweets and drinks as we could fit into our stomach. In between, I was watching the Grammy’s on TV and periodically looking for animals in the dark.

We splurge on a hotel every now and then but this was on a different level. After that experience, I look at the club level at every hotel we book to see if the price is manageable. Inevitably, the frugal side in me wins out and we just book a standard room but I’ll keep dreaming! We went to bed that night very full and very happy. I was looking forward to the club level but not as much as other things on the trip. But having all of that while watching the thunderstorm and animals made for a beautiful night. Even with all of the planning, some moments just sneak up on you.

Sadly, Melissa had to work a little bit while we were there. She posted up in the club level the next day. After I slept in a little bit, I grabbed some breakfast from the area, packed up our stuff, got it to the Bell Services and grabbed Melissa lunch from The Mara. Out of the four buffet options in Kilimanjaro Club, lunch was easily the worst. After grabbing some fruit, we both opted to eat elsewhere. Once she was squared away, I headed to Hollywood Studios for the day!

Part of the reason we took this trip was to meet up with our friends, Ty, Dana and her parents. After spending the weekend at Universal, they were at Hollywood Studios that day so I met them at ABC Commissary for lunch. I can’t say the atmosphere has improved at that counter-service spot but the food remains some of the best in the park. I had the Chicken Club (pictured above) which was good but there are better options on the menu.

We moved along to Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage. It’s time to move on from this show. The songs are timeless and the show is fine but something fresh here is needed. I’ve been saying this for 10 years so I won’t beat a dead horse (beast) here.

I suppose some would say the same about Muppet Vision 3D. Honestly, that critique might be fair. I do think live entertainment should be changed out more often than any other type of attraction but Muppet Vision does show it’s age at times. That said, it still makes me laugh! Changing this out is a little more complicated because it was one of the last things Jim Henson worked on. If I could be promised that another Muppets attraction would take the place of it then I’d probably sign up. But I’m good with this sticking around too!

Our friends had some Lightning Lanes to use so I split off and walked around. Star Tours had no wait at that point so I walked right on! Lines in Hollywood Studios are hard to predict but Star Tours has low wait times unless the park is extremely busy. It’s still a fun ride, albeit in a confusing spot in the park.

Star Tours had a short line but nothing else did so I took a loop around the park to soak in the… ambiance? My feelings toward Hollywood Studios still aren’t overly warm, especially when it comes to aesthetics. The transitions are just so jarring and the the shape of the park as a whole is frustrating to walk around. From a ride perspective, Hollywood Studios is maybe the best park at Disney World! And when you catch it on a sunny, but not overly hot, day then there are some fun views.

I completed my loop and had a little time before Melissa got in the park for our dinner reservation so I popped into Vacation Fun! This Mickey short, made specifically for the park, is zany and another nice space to cool off in Hollywood Studios. It’s also home to the Potatoland photo op. If you know, you know.

After I just knocked Hollywood Studios for the atmosphere, I’ll give it a compliment! The entrance has really grown on me. Some of the replicas of old Hollywood are really well done and there’s a cheeky and idealized California vibe to it. That continues onto the California Crazy architecture in Echo Lake. The park really does have some gems, it’s just not cohesive.

Melissa arrived and, after a brief photo stop with Max, we dined at Hollywood & Vine!

I wrote in the review that this is one of the most underrated character dining spots in all of Disney World. Melissa and I were both slightly shocked at how much we enjoyed the food. No, it’s not the best of the best but it is much better than some other buffets we’ve tried at Disney Parks. I’d go back again, honestly! That’s not something I ever expect from a character dining buffet.

As if we weren’t full enough from the amount we’d eaten in the first few days of our Disney World vacation, we went to Oga’s to meet up with our friends! Melissa and I couldn’t fit anything else in our stomachs so we drank water and vibed with DJ Rex instead. I still like Oga’s quite a bit but would like to see them introduce a new element before the experience becomes stale. The bar has lost a lot of popularity in the last year and there are several ways to spice it up. My pitch would be to add a few live characters throughout.

We were about an hour away from our plan of seeing the latest showing of Fantasmic. For reasons that I mentioned earlier, I don’t have many nighttime shots of Hollywood Studios so I split off from the group and took a few as the crowd thinned.

I started in Galaxy’s Edge and worked my way around, past Star Tours to the Chinese Theatre. Here are a few more of the shots!

If I only experience Hollywood Studios at night, I think my opinion of the place would be higher. Echo Lake has a nice whimsy at night. Galaxy’s Edge looks out of this world (pun intended) after dark. Attractions like Star Tours and Muppet Vision feel larger! There’s a nice vibe to the place when the crowds get low and the lights come on.

I stumbled upon a showing of Wonderful World of Animation right before it was going to start so I took in the whole thing. I’d seen bits and pieces of it in the past but never the entirety. The projection show was a nice addition to the Hollywood Studios lineup! It’s not going to blow anyone away but I found it to be pretty charming. Not every show has to be a headliner. Hollywood Studios really needs more of these types of shows but during the day.

Speaking of headliners, Fantasmic was how we were capping off the night. As always, if you have the choice between 2 showtimes at a Disney Park then go with the latest one. We were seated almost exactly in the center about 20 rows up. I don’t think there were many better seats in the house!

I hadn’t seen Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios in many years. Loyal readers know that the Disneyland version is one of my favorite things on the planet but I’ve always been lukewarm on the Disney World edition. I think it feels less intimate and loses some wonder in the big theater with less of a river around the stage. The new portions of the show had me curious if I would like it more.

In short, the answer is that I like Fantasmic a little bit more than before. That’s probably not the glowing review some would hope for. I’ll start with the good – the theater itself is quite nice and not sitting on the ground, especially as I get older, makes for a pleasant experience. The show was also in good shape, which wasn’t always the case. The water projections were clear and the lighting on the performers really enhanced Fantasmic!

On top of that, a few of the new moments are stirring. The Aladdin stunt into the Frozen and Moana segments were especially well done. Moana having her feet in the water, in a different stage setting than most of the show is a personal highlight. Maybe that’s the more intimate feeling that I think Hollywood Studios is missing as a whole.

The biggest problem, at least to me, are the river (if you want to call it that) scenes. I don’t think the floats add much and then the boat just doesn’t capture the attention like the Mark Twain at Disneyland. Is this how people feel when they see the Disneyland castle for the first time after growing up with Magic Kingdom’s? Fantasmic remains a hallmark even if I don’t like this version as much. It’s well worth seeing. I just think this doesn’t flow quite as well and the finale is a little bit disappointing. Thankfully, I can see the Disneyland version in just a few weeks when it returns. For now, here’s some more pictures from the show!

This photo makes me think Sorcerer Mickey is a celebrity DJ who has an elaborate stage setup. I refuse to make a deadmau5 joke here.

After the show ended, we made our way out of the theater and toward our bus that took us to our new hotel, All Star Sports. All of our bags had already been delivered to the room and we used the online check-in so we were in bed before long. That service and convenience blunted the sharp decrease in quality from Animal Kingdom’s club level to a value resort. Regardless of our hotel status, we were having a wonderful time and slept well that night. We’ll pick up the next installment of the trip report from Epcot the next morning!

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